The Middle Path

 

Thinking about my Blog's message this month, The Middle Path, as taught by Gautama Buddha, I was driving down the mountain, rounded a curve and saw a squirrel sitting in the middle of the road. Not on one side of either yellow line, but smack dab in the middle between the two. "Now there's taking The Middle Path", I said to myself, amused by the synchronicity of my thoughts and demonstration by Spirit.

Recently, I've found myself awake quite a bit in the middle of the night, and it is then I enter into dialogue with God, with Spirit. This week I contemplated Buddha's teaching, with the anniversary of his birth, and Illumination approaching this month. His teaching of the "Eightfold Path" stresses the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, and eschews these through a state of Perfection in each. I have found in these timings that "Perfection" can be a challenge for many that may seem unattainable, so I substituted "Right", and sought to embrace His wisdom through that perspective.

To me, these aspects when acted upon bring us to a centered state of Being. Perhaps that is called The Middle Path. Through practice of these doctrines, you are unaffected by the chaotic pull of fear, drama or tragedy. You become unaffected by the hypnotic trance of ego, and remain mindfully present in the now.

And as we know, thanks to Eckhart, true power lies in the Now.

Getting back to that squirrel I saw sitting in the middle of the road, he saw my Saab barreling toward him, and I'm sure, in the Now of the Middle Path, thought it prudent to run for cover.